Question

A student made a claim that stated, "The taxi car will experience the largest force because it has the largest acceleration out of everyone." Which of the following statements is true based on what you know about forces?

A. The statement is incorrect. Force and acceleration are not directly proportional.
B. The statement is correct. Force and acceleration are directly proportional.
C. The statement is partially correct. Force and acceleration have an inverse relationship.
D. The statement is ambiguous. More information is needed to determine its validity.

Answer 1

The statement that a taxi car with the largest acceleration will experience the largest force is true because force and acceleration are directly proportional, as expressed by Newton's second law of motion (F = ma).

Step-by-step explanation:

The claim that "The taxi car will experience the largest force because it has the largest acceleration" is evaluated in light of the known relationship between force and acceleration. According to Newton's second law of motion, force is directly proportional to the acceleration of an object when the mass is constant. The law is mathematically expressed as F = ma, where F is force, m is mass, and a is acceleration. Therefore, if two objects have the same mass, the object with the greater acceleration will indeed experience a greater force.

Given this foundational principle of physics, the correct answer to the student's question is B: "The statement is correct. Force and acceleration are directly proportional." This is because if you increase the acceleration while keeping the mass the same, the force applied must increase proportionally.